Finding Home
by Bonnia
Summary: A year after the events of Persona 4, Souji wants to go home to Inaba but his parents say no. So he does the logical thing; hops on a train during the night and goes anyway. Nothing can break the bonds between him, Yosuke, and the rest of his team- not even two pesky parents. Souji/Yosuke, Naoto/Rise.
1. Prologue

**Title: **Finding Home

**Author: **Bonnia

**Rating: **T

**Summary: **A year after the events of Persona 4, Souji wants to go home to Inaba but his parents say no. So he does the logical thing; hops on a train during the night and goes anyway. Nothing can break the bonds between him, Yosuke, and the rest of his team- not even two pesky parents. Souji/Yosuke, Naoto/Rise.

**Warnings:** None in this chapter, unless you count teenage rebellion as a warning.

**Disclaimer:** I wish I did, but I don't own Persona 4 or any of these characters. Sigh.

**Author's Note:** Well, I had the idea for this fic a while ago but never got to cranking it out until now. And I'm hoping Souji's parents don't come off as too mean; they just have a higher standard of living than Inaba and think that their lifestyle is good for him.

By the way, this was written for a request on livejournal. Shortened Version: _Anywhere from a week to a month after the end of the game, Dojima opens the door one fine, sunny morning to find Souji and a bag on his doorstep with the most horrifying greeting an Uncle can hear. "Hello, Uncle Dojima, I've run away." _It's a little deviated from the prompt, but... author privileges? Something like that.

* * *

"No."

That was a word that Souji had heard and used many times in his lifetime. But now, it held more meaning than it ever had in the context it was used in.

"W-what?" He asked blankly.

Across from him on the sofa opposite, his parents both sat with stern, unyielding faces. His father had a slightly lined face with black slicked-back hair, who looked business-like in his gray suit. His mother, on the other hand, looked a bit more homely in her clothing but no less compliant. Her silvery-gray hair was tied neatly back in a bun and her eyes stared at him, worriedly but still firm.

"Son," his father started, "you must know about the murders that went on there, and their Police Department couldn't find a real suspect, instead arresting two others until _a group of kids_ brought the real murderer in." Souji didn't tell him that he was part of that group, instead choosing to sit silently and in shock.

His mother took a different approach, leaning over to take his hand and holding his gaze. "It's too dangerous to go back at the moment, honey," she told him, then sat up and laughed once. "Besides, aren't you tired of being in the country? It is very boring there, and I'm sure you must be tired of my brother's ways. Ryotaro never was the most interesting one." She let out a short chuckle that along with her words, sparked Souji's interruption.

"But, they already caught him! I was safe the whole time, and Uncle was very kind to me. I made friends there, friends that I've never had in the city," he pleaded.

It was true, that was; the friends he'd made in Inaba could never be rivaled. What could bond a group closer together than experiencing Shadows, Personas, a TV World, and solving murders? The day he had left them was one of the saddest of his life, right after Nanako's... kidnapping, and her temporary death. Those two times were still the worst of Souji's life, hands down.

Mr. Seta's voice grew cold as he glared at his son. "You are not going back there while you are under my house and my rules, Souji. Golden Week is a time for family."

Souji scowled. "But Uncle and Nanako-chan are family! So are the rest of my friends, and Yosuke-" he cut himself off at the thought of Yosuke, their names making him miss the brunette and the rest of the group even more. He also had his thoughts cut off when his father stood up, towering over him.

"No. I will not have the heir of the Seta business frolicking about with a bunch of little people from some low-class town!"

Souji's fist clenched on the chair.

"If I have anything to do with it, you won't see those people until you're out of this house, which means after you've taken over the family business like a good son! Now, forget this nonsense." His father seethed.

Souji's mother stood and put a hand on her husband's arm, trying to calm him down somewhat. "Now, Seiichi, calm down. However," she looked down at her son, "I agree with him. Souji-chan, you need to focus on your studies and getting into a good college. These 'friends' can wait until you're out of high school, at least?"

_No, they can't,_ Souji thought in a fit of rage. _They're my friends and family, a better family than you'll ever be. _However, he held it in and schooled his features to be emotionless, the mask he had refined so well before Inaba.

Standing, he bowed low to his parents as if he was submitting. His thoughts were exactly the opposite of his words, though. "Mother, Father, I see your reasoning now. I am sorry to have been so disruptive and insensible, and I shall follow your instructions."

Seiichi Seta relaxed somewhat, smiling triumphantly. "I knew you would see the light, Souji," he said. "There's no point in going back to a run-down place like that when you have such potential within you."

"Thank you Father," Souji said, eyes hidden. "And now, may I be excused? I want to get a headstart on my studies for exams."

His father waved one hand nonchalantly, already turning to his wife and forgetting about the conversation. "Go ahead, son."

Souji bowed to them again, and then ignored his father's self-righteous prattle as he headed towards and up the stairs to his room. He didn't look back.

* * *

The morning of May 3rd was a bright and sunny one in Tokyo, which meant that Michiko Seta was quite surprised when at 9:00 am her son Souji wasn't awake yet. He was usually on time about these things, she reflected as she ascended the stairs to look in on him and grab her manila workfolder.

She opened the door slowly, mildly surprised when the room and bed were cleanly made up, as if no one had slept there last night. Maybe he had already gone out, she thought, seeing a note on the desk. She picked it up, eyes growing wider at what she found.

_Mother and Father- _

_Inaba is more of a home than this'll ever be. I shall take repercussions as they come, but for now I'm heading back to be with Uncle, Nanako, Yosuke and the others. _

_Please try to understand. _

_-Souji_


	2. Reunion Of Sorts

**Title: **Finding Home

**Author: **Bonnia

**Rating: **T

**Summary: **A year after the events of Persona 4, Souji wants to go home to Inaba but his parents say no. So he does the logical thing; hops on a train during the night and goes anyway. Nothing can break the bonds between him, Yosuke, and the rest of his team- not even two pesky parents. Souji/Yosuke, Naoto/Rise.

**Warnings:** Nothing really. Hints of sexual implications and yaoi, though nothing really at all. And maybe a few swear words.

**Disclaimer:** Nope, still don't own it. And I'm totally broke, so I can't buy them off of Atlas.

**Author's Note:** Well, here's the first real chapter of Finding Home. I've discovered... I'm really bad at writing ensemble fics. I always seem to leave a few people out; mainly, everyone except Souji and Yosuke. Oh well, at least I tried. It'll pick up in the next few chapters, I hope. Those girls in the middle are the ones from Yosuke's SL. Please read and review, especially! If you like it, if you don't, I'd like to know.

* * *

The morning of May 3rd was a bright and sunny one in Inaba, which meant that Ryotaro Dojima wasn't surprised when he got up to see his daughter Nanako sitting and watching her _Magical Girl Great Detective Loveline_ show.

He was surprised, though, to hear someone knocking on the door at that hour.

"Who the hell's here?" He muttered, sleepy-eyed, as he trudged to the door.

And then he opened the door to see his nephew, Souji Seta, staring at him with an unreadable expression and a duffel bag.

"Wh- what the _hell_? Souji, what are you doing here?"

His nephew had the same cool look he used everywhere, although now that Ryotaro could (somewhat) see through it, he saw that Souji looked somewhat abashed and nervous. He should be, the older man reflected sternly. What the hell was he doing in Inaba? The last he had heard, which was...

He didn't know. Ryotaro couldn't think of, off the top of his head, the last time he had talked to his nephew. He was sure it wasn't very recently, but they had talked on the phone only a while ago, hadn't they...?

Shoving that thought out of his mind, he directed his attention to Souji's blank gaze. "Hello Uncle. Er, I've run away from home."

"W-wha...?" was all Ryotaro could say before he was pushed out of the way by a rampaging little sister Nanako.

"Onii-chan! You're home!" She cried, hugging his legs and smiling brightly up at him. Her gentleness and happiness warmed both their smiles as Souji bent down to hug her.

"Yeah, I guess I am home," he looked up at Ryotaro.

Dojima just shrugged, half smiling and half scowling, and gestured him in.

He really needed some coffee before getting into all this.

* * *

"So," his Uncle summed up, "Michiko and her husband wouldn't let you come back for Golden Week."

"Yes."

"So you decided to _run away_? Souji, how does that fix any problems?" Dojima scoffed, now holding his familiar mug in one hand and the paper in the other. Across from him on the opposite side of the kotatsu, Souji looked away in a rare moment of shame.

"...I get to see you and Nanako-chan, and Yosuke and the others..." he trailed off.

Dojima sighed, although it was sort of fondly. "I'm going to have to call your parents, you know."

Souji paused, realizing he hadn't thought that far ahead in his planning when he decided to leave for Inaba. It was a rash decision, although not one he regretted making at all. Nevertheless, the thought of being dragged back hadn't really crossed his mind when he had boarded that train and now that it was a slight bit of panic was starting to set in. "But, they'll just drag me back!"

"Well, we can't just leave them hanging," his Uncle reasoned.

Souji sighed. "Well, can you get them to let me stay? Tell them I'll ace the exams or something."

Dojima nodded gruffly. "I'll see what I can do." His voice softened. "Michiko never was one to mince words or cover her true feelings up. Guess that's a difference between you and her, then." Souji looked up.

"Just, stay out of trouble this time, okay?" His uncle reached across the table to set one hand on his shoulder, and then pulled it away after a moment awkwardly. The motion soothed Souji, who could tell that despite how he acted his uncle really was glad to see him. He just didn't really know how to show it.

Dojima cleared his throat once. "Well, your room's still made up- nobody's been in there since you left. And Nanako and I can't order out every night..." He trailed off, smiling lopsidedly.

Grinning, Souji stood. "Thank you, Uncle," he said truthfully.

Dojima shrugged. "That's what family's for."

Souji grinned and took his bags upstairs, heading for his old room. Just as Dojima had said, nothing had changed- his futon was still neatly folded, one lone unfinished plastic model was on the shelf, and his trusty fishing gear was hidden in the closet. After packing things away, Souji left his room and ran into Nanako as he was heading to look for her.

"Onii-chan!" She exclaimed as she looked up. She never got tired of calling him that, and Souji never grew tired of hearing it. "Can we go to Junes? And see Teddie, and Yosuke-nii-chan, and Kanji-nii-chan, and Chie-onee-chan, and Yukiko-onee-chan, and-"

Souji cut her off, smiling and flicking one short brown pigtail. "Sure, Nanako, we can go see all of them in a little while." Nanako grinned and giggled, flouncing back downstairs.

_I wonder when all of them turned into Nanako-chan's siblings_, Souji reflected bemusedly as he headed to the bathroom to wash up. Nanako had become sort of a little sis to all of them, though, after the events of November and December...

Turning his thoughts away from depressing things like that, Souji then started on a new train of thought; the Investigation Team. The Seekers of Truth. Whatever you called them, they were really only a group of kids with the power to save people that they had harnessed on their own. And in the end, all they really needed was their bonds with each other to get them through.

His thoughts turned to the way each of them would react when he showed up unexpectedly at Junes- he knew they still got together there every holiday or weekend, and often after school. Naoto would hear his story and probably reproach him for doing such a stupid thing, but she'd be happy to see him even if she didn't show it. Teddie and Rise would probably burst into tears, and Yukiko and Chie, and Kanji to a point, would clobber him with questions happily.

Yosuke... would do none of that. Souji could picture the scene in his mind:

… _Yosuke grinned and winked at him, brown eyes alight with joy. "Good to have you back, partner..." _

… "_Partner..."_

… "_Mmm, _partner..._" _

Souji jumped and wondered when the nickname in the false greeting had turned into a moan.

It was probably around the time his hormones started raging up at the thought of his best friend. That happened a lot.

He knew he wasn't really into girls all that much, and had known that before he moved to Inaba. What Souji didn't know was how he had gotten so attached to the brunette in such a short amount of time. It had happened gradually, and before Souji knew it he was head over heels for Yosuke. The only problem was telling him.

Yosuke's homophobic tendencies seemed to pop up whenever Souji and him were alone, and as much as the silver-haired boy could understand it still got on his nerves. _What's wrong with this_, he wanted to scream sometimes when they would brush hands or share a look, Yosuke always shying away and spouting his homophobic crap. _I don't see it as weird, why do you? _

But with all Yosuke's crap and teasing, there were times when Souji distinctively remembered Yosuke saying things that could be taken as... liking Souji. Of course, he always followed up afterward with something stupid, but they left a mark on Souji's memories as a possibility that maybe, one day...

Souji violently shoved those thoughts back out of his mind again, heading downstairs at a rapid pace. At the bottom, Dojima was standing with his familiar coat slung over his shoulder. "I'm heading out," he notified Souji. "Take Nanako to Junes or something, will you?"

Nanako bounced up next to him from her spot near the TV. "Yeah, let's go big bro!" She giggled.

Souji chuckled and slipped on his shoes, and then the two headed out to see the Investigation Team once again.

* * *

Junes was a bright and colorful place at the beginning of Golden Week, all sorts of families going there to shop and spend time together. Usually that was no different for the Seekers of Truth, except one of their number was gone from the town and two others were working their butts off.

"Man, where the hell'd Teddie go?" Yosuke groaned.

The brunette wiped his forehead with his sleeve and continued to stack cans in the grocery department, eagerly wanting the next 3 minutes to pass so he could go on break.

Everyone was gathered at their normal table, sitting and eating Junes-brand meat-like food and drink while discussing their plans and generally just joking around. Teddie had disappeared to who knew where, and that just left Yosuke.

And Souji, who was probably off having fun doing something with his new friends now. As always, Yosuke felt a twinge of jealousy that he pushed down rapidly when he thought of his partner. He had probably made friends really quickly with his looks and personality, and had no trouble fitting in anywhere.

But for all that Yosuke thought that, he could never stay mad or feel that way about Souji. The other boy just had this atmosphere that made a person think about who they were and who they wanted to be... and who they wanted in general.

And Yosuke wanted girls.

He was almost sure of it.

The 'almost' was the part that stuck in his brain as grinning, he pulled the orange apron over his head and started to walk away when he was stopped by two annoyed senpai.

"Hey, Hanamura!" The gaudy one said, stomping up with a hand on her hip. Behind her, the other girl held the same pose. "We need off tomorrow. Fix the schedule."

Yosuke sighed, already feeling a headache coming on. "I can't do that; we're going to need all the help we can get this week. Besides, aren't you saving up for something?"

She scoffed. "Whatever. Can't you get one of your little friends to come in? You always did before..." she trailed off with a glint in her eyes that mocked him.

Last year Souji had come in to help Junes during Golden Week, but it was because of a lot of begging on Yosuke's part, and the two actually had fun there. No one else would voluntarily come in to help on their vacation.

The other girl, a snooty blond, said, "Yeah, last year there was that one really hot transfer student, wasn't there? I wonder why he would come here, when there were, like, so many better things to do..."

Yosuke's hand clenched into a fist, and he turned away from them. "Sorry, I can't help you."

One of the girls put a manicured hand on his shoulder and Yosuke resisted the urge to throw it in her face. "No, you're gonna help us, or we're gonna quit. And the little Junes Prince has no people to help him, does he?"

Now both of Yosuke's hands were fists as he ran that through his mind. Self-deprecatingly, he found it to be true, no matter how much he didn't want to believe it. The Investigation Team were still his closest friends, but only one person would voluntarily help him with something like this, and he wasn't here right now.

"Actually, Junes is a nice place to work during Golden Week. Isn't it, Nanako-chan?"

A voice said behind them. A strikingly familiar voice, one that rang in Yosuke's memories day and night. One that he could recognize on the spot, although his mind had to be playing tricks on him, it just had to be...

"Yeah! I love Junes!"

Yosuke's breath hitched in his throat; he didn't dare to turn around for fear that it was just an illusion; his mind was going crazy. _No..._

"Hey," the snooty girl whispered, "it's that transfer student and his kid cousin, the detective's kid."

Part of Yosuke internally chuckled at 'kid cousin', but the rest of his senses were focused on the rapidly approaching footsteps. The two senpai rolled their eyes, albeit nervously, and disappeared, but Yosuke didn't move a muscle until he felt a pair of warm arms envelop him from behind and pull him back to lean on someone's chest.

A chest that was irrevocably, irrefutably Souji's.

"You idiot," Yosuke murmured, looking at an arm that was definitely Souji's. "That's for girls."

A deep chuckle reverberated in his ear and Yosuke felt the vibrations against his back. "Then we'll be girls together."

On impulse Yosuke whipped around and wrapped his arms around his partner tightly, repressing the sudden and unwanted tears that were springing to his eyes. Despite having the Investigation Team around, there was still that Souji-shaped hole no one could fill but Souji that had just been filled. He blinked rapidly.

Souji laughed again, hands still on Yosuke's back. "Didn't know you'd miss me so much." His voice, although light-hearted, was slightly insecure and Yosuke rolled his eyes fondly.

"Shut up," he muttered, moving away. A cold breeze somehow struck him and Yosuke crossed his arms to gain back the missing warmth. "Dude, not that I'm not glad to see you, 'cause I'm fucking elated, but... what the hell are you doing here?"

Souji hadn't changed at all, to Yosuke's relief- he was irrationally worried that he would come back with a buzz cut, or piercings like Kanji or something. But no, Souji's gray hair was still in the bowl cut,and his silver eyes were still sparkling mischievously, but with a sadness that made Yosuke's muscles tense.

"It's not enough for me to want to see you all?" Yosuke could tell he purposefully dodged the question, but before he could say anything there was a pink girl around his legs.

"Yosuke-nii-chan!" Nanako Dojima grinned brightly, hugging the brunette cheerfully. Yosuke smiled and bent down.

"Hey, Nanako-chan. Nice seeing you again."

Nanako pouted indignantly- it was a strange but endearing look on her. "Who were those girls? They were mean," she pointed out bluntly, causing Yosuke to snort in amusement. "They don't deserve to work at Junes!"

Yosuke chuckled and glanced up to see Souji watching him with an expression that made Yosuke's face flush. Standing, he grinned. "Well, shall we go surprise the team? I bet Teddie'll have a panic attack."

As Nanako squealed, Souji caught his eye and winked, making Yosuke's heart palpitate traitorously- he liked girls, dammit! "Let's go," he hummed affirmatively.

* * *

"Here, my treat."

The rest of the Investigation Team gaped at Yosuke disbelievingly, and more importantly, at his tray of Junes steak for them all. Even Chie, who would normally be gorging herself, paused in her admiration to stare at him.

"... Are you sure you're feeling okay, Yosuke-kun?" Yukiko asked.

Yosuke chuckled. "Yeah, I'm fine Yukiko-san. I dunno, I just felt like treating you all. I mean, it's Golden Week, a time for family and all that crap, and you guys are like family and all, so... eat." He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed, wary after saying all that. It was true, though; sometimes the Team felt more like his family than his real family.

Kanji blinked once, then twice. "How'd you afford all this, though, Yosuke-senpai?"

At that, Yosuke perked up and winked. "Well, I've got quite a wealthy benefactor," he grinned, snapping his fingers.

Out of the elevator came their Souji and Nanako, just as they'd planned.

Except it was now a cross-dressing Souji, and Nanako.

"... ohmygod partner why..." Yosuke groaned, head hitting the table as his brain stopped.

Souji shrugged in his black schoolgirl outfit. "Make an entrance?"

Yosuke facepalmed once again as the Investigation Team slowly came to realize who was standing in front of them, wooden sword and all.

"Souji-senpai?"

"Holy crap, Souji!"

"_Senpai!_" Rise's exclamation was the sign for the rest of the team to crowd around Souji, Rise clutching his arm in a death grip. Her other hand was laced firmly in Naoto's.

Suddenly a thought struck him and Yosuke turned to Chie and Kanji, who were both settling down in their chairs again, both surreptitiously rubbing their eyes. Yosuke inwardly chuckled at their alike actions.

"Hey, where's Teddie?" He asked, glancing around the crowded food court, pausing when he saw the blond Shadow and knew that he had spotted Souji.

A second later Yosuke lost him as he ducked and weaved through the crowd, appearing a second later as he barreled into Souji, nearly knocking the older boy to the ground. Letting out an indecipherable wail, Teddie buried his head in Souji's shoulder and began to wail loudly, shedding tears and sparkles oddly enough.

Souji tentatively put his hands on Teddie's shoulders while the younger boy cried. "Hey Teddie," he whispered. "I missed you too."

That only made Teddie cry harder, hugging Souji around the waist. Eventually his wailing died down to sniffles, but he didn't move. In fact, nobody moved, everyone staring quietly at Teddie and Souji as Souji made no attempt to pry Teddie off of him.

Chuckling weakly, Yosuke broke the sort-of awkward silence by striding forward and pulling Teddie away from Souji. "Come on, Ted," he murmured. "Shouldn't we be happy?"

That had the opposite effect of what Yosuke wanted, as instead of Teddie ceasing his crying he just latched onto Yosuke's waist and kept bawling.

Locked in place, Yosuke's gaze raced around Junes awkwardly before he tentatively placed his hands on Teddie's shoulders like Souji did and pulled him away. "Come on, Ted," he whispered again, although this time it was more awkward than amused. "Get off me."

Finally Teddie let go of him and sat down with a thump at their table, still sniffling. "W-what're you doing here, Sensei?"

The rest of them sat in their allotted places and everyone took a moment to bask in their togetherness again, as odd as it sounded. It had been more than a year since the murders had ended, with Adachi being caught and jailed. More than a year since they had been together like this, and now that they were it was a moment before anyone wanted to ruin the reality that they couldn't stay like this forever.

But of course, all moments like that have to end and this one did, with Naoto leaning over the table towards Souji and questioning, "So, Souji-senpai, will you divulge how you came to be in Inaba?"

Yosuke was wondering that himself. "Yeah, man, I thought you weren't gonna be able to come back until summer break?"

Souji didn't answer, instead choosing to stare at the table.

"Partner?"

Yosuke's quiet question broke him out of his reverie, and the pigtailed boy's head snapped up to meet eyes with Yosuke.

What Yosuke met there shocked him. For the first time since he'd known him, Souji almost looked... ashamed?

Souji never looked ashamed. It wasn't an expression in his admittedly small variety of expressions. So what had happened to make him look like that?

"Well, I... I wanted to come home and surprise you guys for Golden Week. But my parents said no." His talking got louder and his expression angrier as he went on, still staring at the table. "My dad said it was too dangerous here, and my mother said that it was boring here and I should want to stay in the city, because my 'friends'," he made quotation marks in the air mockingly, "weren't real friends."

Immediately the Investigation Team broke out in protests, all at once talking at Souji. Rise, Kanji and Chie started protesting and declaring their loyalty to Souji simultaneously, while Teddie and Yukiko started proclaiming the wrongness of that scene. Naoto just scowled and muttered under her breath, while Yosuke stared at Souji intently.

"You know that's not true, right?" He questioned.

Souji smiled fondly, a little thing but characteristic of who they'd come to know. "Yeah, I know Yosuke."

Finally, they all calmed down. "So," Chie asked with a triumphant smile, "what happened? Did you argue some sense into them?"

"Um... no. I ran away."

The resulting "WHAT?" caught the attention of everyone in Junes at the time.

Gaping, none of the Investigation Team actually said anything, until Nanako giggled at them for the first time since Souji and her had appeared. "You all look funny," she laughed.

Glancing at each other, they all broke out in laughter. Yosuke bent over, chuckling, and patted Nanako on the head. "Thanks for that, Nanako," he smiled.

Nanako smiled sweetly up at him. "You're welcome, Yosuke-nii-chan," she said, making Yosuke flush and glance away at the honorific. The only people who had ever attached -chan to his name were relatives, and hearing it from Nanako only proved how close she had grown to him and the group itself since Souji's arrival.

Chie looked at his pink face and started laughing. "Aww, now Yosuke's a brother and a senpai," she teased.

Teddie looked utterly serious as he proclaimed, "Yeah! Yosuke's my brother!"

Conversations tapered off at that statement, and Teddie only grinned. Yosuke, on the other hand, covered his face in his hands to hide his satisfaction and blush at that.

"Embarrassed, Yosuke?" Souji nudged Yosuke in the shoulder.

"Shut up," he muttered, still grinning.

Naoto looked complacent. "It goes to show how we've become a family throughout the case," she observed.

They all looked at each other silently, before Yukiko broke it. "So, Souji-kun, your parents don't know you're here?" She asked worriedly.

Souji didn't look like he wanted to get back to the topic, but they did anyway. "Well, I left them a note... no matter what, though, I'm not leaving. I'm spending my week with you guys," he declared.

Kanji stood up and pumped a fist into the air. "HELL yeah!" Then he looked down at everyone else sheepishly. "...no?"

Rise giggled and jumped up from her seat, pulling Naoto with her. "Yeah! Let's party!"

Everyone agreed with that, and stood to throw away their trash. Yosuke stood next to Nanako and Souji as they dispersed their separate ways for a moment, standing quietly next to his best friend.

After a moment of calm silence, he placed one hand on Souji's shoulder and said what had been on his mind this whole time.

"You know, I'm really glad you're back. Things weren't the same without you."

Souji met his gaze, gray eyes filled with happiness and sincerity. "I know.

"I'm glad to be back too."


	3. Putting the Pieces Back Together

**Title: **Finding Home

**Author: **Bonnia

**Rating: **T

**Warnings:** Language/Swearing, Kissing, maybe a few sexual implications tossed in there.

**Summary: **A year after the events of Persona 4, Souji wants to go home to Inaba but his parents say no. So he does the logical thing; hops on a train during the night and goes anyway. Nothing can break the bonds between him, Yosuke, and the rest of his team- not even two pesky parents. Souji/Yosuke, Naoto/Rise.

**Disclaimer:** Even if I grow up to become the CEO or whatever of Atlas, I still won't own Persona 4. Or actually, I would. I won't, though.

**Author's Note: **Well, here's the second chapter of this story. Inside is randomness, some fluff, and drama that came to me randomly. I'm thinking about changing the genre to Romance/Drama, seeing as what just came up. Tell me what you think in a review. I also need a beta for this, that wouldn't mind doing a lot at once since my chapters are very long.

I'm actually surprised I'm getting this out so fast- the ideas are just flowing. Nevertheless, this isn't really normal, so eventually updates will slow down. I probably won't ever have a set updating schedule, either.

* * *

"So... what do we do now?"

Yosuke shrugged. "No idea."

The Investigation Team, after splitting up, had regathered at their 'special headquarters' table to discuss their plans now, for which they had no ideas at all.

"D'ya think Dojima-san'd let us go to your place, senpai?" Kanji asked Souji, who had finally changed out of his crossdressing outfit into some casual clothing. At the moment, he was fixing his hair, and looked over at Kanji.

"I don't know. He's not home right now, but I can ask..."

"Dad would say okay. He likes you guys," Nanako piped up.

At that, Rise leapt randomly into the air. "Let's go to senpai's house then! We can party there, and us girls'll make a cake," she decided.

Yosuke froze, shaking his head slowly. "No. No no no no no... do you want to murder him right after he comes back?" He yelped when Chie slapped him in the arm. "Oww! Geez... but it's true! Am I the only one that remembers Mystery Food X?"

Souji blanched, while Chie and Yukiko scowled. "It tasted fine last time," Yukiko muttered under her breath.

Naoto supported them, with the fact that "I am a sufficient cook, and our last celebration did not send anyone to the hospital."

Before Yosuke could protest anymore, the go-getters of the group, meaning Rise and Chie, jumped up and started hustling everyone downstairs towards Souji's house, Kanji, Naoto and Yukiko protesting or just rolling their eyes. Nanako joined Teddie in skipping over to the stairs, and Yosuke stood with Souji as the group left.

"You sure Dojima-san'll be okay with this?" He asked.

Souji shrugged. "No, but I don't think he'll kick us out. By the way, aren't you still working today?"

Yosuke paused in his tracks, and Souji looked at him curiously. "Shit," he swore quietly, thinking. He- and Teddie, to think of it- were still on the clock and their breaks had ended a while ago. They had just kind of gotten lost in the moment of seeing Souji again.

Mentally comparing the experience of seeing Souji to his wallet, Yosuke shrugged. "Whatever, I'll ditch for today. I'm sure Dad'll blow up at me, but I really don't care right now," he grinned at Souji, who chuckled. "I do have to go clock out, though. Go ahead; my bike's in back so I can just ride over there."

Souji looked at him with blatant disbelief. "You're still riding that thing?"

"Yeah! I mean, how else am I going to get around?" Yosuke asked as they headed towards the elevator.

"Walk?" Yosuke just stared at him astonished, and Souji looked like he wanted to roll his eyes. "It's not that hard."

"Yeah, whatever," Yosuke chuckled as the elevator doors slid open. Nobody was inside. "You and your crazy walking and fishing, and feeding cats," he commented to Souji as he jabbed the button for the first floor.

Souji put on an expression of fake hurt. "But cats are fun!" He complained with a pout. Yosuke laughed loudly as they exited the elevator and headed towards the employee storage, Souji smiling at him.

As he pushed the swinging door open on the bottom floor, Yosuke paused when he heard voices inside the employee lounge. Everyone else was working- who would be on break at this time, he wondered.

Behind him, Souji stopped walking when Yosuke paused and very nearly fell into the other boy, grabbing Yosuke's shoulder in an attempt to keep himself steadied. Yosuke looked back and smirked lightly before stepping into the hallway quietly and sliding down the hall.

The door to the lounge was open, so the two could clearly hear the conversation going on inside.

"He needs to be worked harder," a man's voice said from inside. Yosuke froze next to the window- he knew who was talking and had a strong suspicion of who they were talking about.

"But Kazuhiro, he's just a boy. Let him have his childhood," a softer voice that Yosuke recognized as his mother pleaded.

Backing up slowly with wide eyes, Yosuke didn't say anything as the conversation continued and got louder and louder. "He needs to learn responsibility! Hanging out with Tatsumi, and that crazy Chie girl has changed him, not to mention whoever Seta is. Seta's all he talks about, and it's distracting him from his work and school! I have half a mind to ground him to the house." Yosuke's father snapped.

"But, those friends have been good for Yosuke-chan. He's gotten more confident and happy. Don't deny him that."

Yosuke wasn't really thinking any coherent thoughts at this point. Instead, his heart was racing at the implications of what his father had just said. They wouldn't ground him, would they? Hanging out with the team was all that kept him sane!

"Yosuke?" Souji whispered from behind, and the brunette jumped, having forgotten he was there. A warm weight rested on his shoulder.

"I-I'm fine, it's nothing," Yosuke muttered blankly back, turning to the wall and typing in his pin number to clock out.

After the machine accepted his number, Yosuke slowly turned and headed back down the hallway, Souji following silently after him.

"What was that about?" The gray-haired teenager asked calmly when they were in the mostly-empty lobby. Yosuke sighed explosively, because he knew Souji was going to ask that. He always did.

"I don't know. Dad's been getting more and more on my case lately for slacking and stuff. I guess he's kind of put up with it since last year." His excuses sounded empty, even to him. Luckily, Souji only stared at him for a moment before sighing.

"Okay, Yosuke. Come on, everyone's waiting."

* * *

Souji had changed, Rise reflected.

Oh, he still had the same attitude towards people and life- the calm polite facade he showed most everyone was in place almost all the time. He still had those tight bonds with the Investigation Team that wouldn't be broken, and he showed what was behind the mask with them more than anyone else, except maybe his family.

He was still their Souji.

But at the same time, something was different. He seemed more... outgoing, and willing to talk to them about his personal issues. He had left his family to come back for a week for them!

And there was that thing with him and Yosuke... Rise smirked as she resolved to help her senpai woo his partner. After Souji had calmly, yet kindly turned down her wild admission of love, and helped her figure herself out, the least Rise could do was give them a little... push!

The redhead giggled to herself after hearing her own thoughts, and next to her Naoto gave her a questioning look. It still surprised Rise why a detective as cool and collected like Naoto would ever like a crazy, messed-up pop star like Rise, but she couldn't deny the explosive attraction between the two.

At the moment, everyone was sitting around in Souji's living room chatting randomly. The Souji in question was laughing with Yukiko at apparently something Chie had said, because the brunette's face was in her hands embarrassed.

Next to them, Kanji and Teddie were having a very serious discussion about how Kanji should be allowed to pet Teddie's fur, with Yosuke looking on with an expression that said he couldn't believe they would talk about something like that.

Rise giggled and looked down at Nanako-chan. The 8-year old was smiling brightly as she watched her big bro and other 'siblings' interact for the first time in a year.

"Having fun Nanako-chan?" She asked. Nanako looked up at her with a grin.

"Yeah! I'm so glad onii-chan's back," she said.

Rise could understand that.

Even though he hadn't been the closest with the three kohai as he was to Yosuke, Chie, and Teddie, all three of them had felt his absence as a large hole in their lives. At first it was a glaring wound that sort of separated them- they didn't really work well without Souji leading and connecting them. Slowly, though, the Investigation Team got back on their feet without Souji and figured out why they were all friends in the first place.

Eventually it didn't hurt as much. They sort of forgot the hole in the course of their daily lives, but always the small things would bring it back. Like how some other kid had his shoe locker, and every time Rise passed it she'd remember him standing there, pulling some new concoction out that someone had left. Or at lunch, where nobody's food was as tasty as Souji's, not even Kanji's.

But now he was back, and all was right in the world.

For a week, at least.

_Well, better make the best of it!_ Rise decided with a smile, and jumped to her feet. "So, senpai, Nanako-chan! Got anything to do around here?"

Souji broke off from his conversation to look at her with a bemused expression. "Do?"

Rise's smile fell slightly. "Uh, yeah... what do you do for fun here?"

"Read books about ramen and fold envelopes," Yosuke piped up from next to him with a serious look. "Not to mention Witch Detective-god, man, that's like the opposite of porn!" Souji shot him a look, and then shrugged at the weird stares he was getting.

"What? It builds diligence."

Nobody answered him, instead turning to the speculative Nanako. "I don't really do anything but watch TV," she pondered. "Oh! I think we have some old games in a closet!" She suddenly exclaimed, leaping up and jumping up the stairs. Rise squealed and tugged Naoto up beside her; the blue-clothed detective nearly stumbling into Rise's arms.

"Rise-chan," Naoto muttered as Rise supported her, hissing in her ear. "What are you doing?"

"Why, whatever do you mean Naoto-chan?" The former pop idol asked innocently. Naoto blushed, as she always did when Rise used that honorific with her, but there was another reason to it.

"You are aware I don't... I don't know how to act in these sort of situations., Rise," she hissed nervously. "I've never been one for games like this. What if I-"

Rise sighed loudly to interrupt her, pouting annoyed. One of the most annoying things about Naoto was that she was awkward in social situations. But it was still really endearing, the redhead thought as she watched Naoto's blushing face. It was so cute, she thought as she just hugged Naoto and kissed her on the cheek.

Naoto's face became as bright as a campfire as she stuttered, "Ri-Rise! What-" She was cut off by Rise pressing her lips against her own this time, muffling her words but not covering up her surprised grunt.

Conversation drifted off as everyone turned surprised to see the spectacle, Rise's arms still circling Naoto as she kissed her. Naoto's eyes were wide and shocked, but that wasn't to say she wasn't enjoying it, as after a moment her eyes slid closed.

* * *

Yosuke was just kind of struck dumb by the sight of Risette attempting to make out with the Detective 'Prince' in Ryotaro Dojima's living room.

It wasn't to say it disturbed him... much.

He just didn't really like things like that... did he?

Fuck, he was confused.

On one hand, he had absolutely hated Kanji's Shadow dungeon, and everything he was spouting off was crazy and disturbing. He didn't like guys, he didn't want to like guys, guys weren't supposed to sew and stuff, and so he stayed away from Kanji for a while after that- and the camping trip.

On the other... this wasn't horrible. Well, Naoto was always dressed as a guy, so that diminished the strange factor.

And the fact that he kept thinking things like that about Souji.

He didn't want to think about Souji like that. He did not want to imagine what it would feel like to touch Souji, to be pressed against Souji, to kiss Souji like that...

"Agh, fuck," he swore drastically, putting his head in his hands and leaning on the short table.

Of course, that broke their lull, and the Investigation Team snapped out of their trance-like state. Kanji rushed to the bathroom to suppress his raging nosebleed, while Chie just gaped. Teddie had no idea what had just happened but was rapidly approaching the two, probably to concede Naoto on having "scored".

Rise looked a little abashed, but she grinned widely as she held Naoto's hand and chattered away to Teddie. Naoto just stared into space, one hand faintly touching her lips and her eyes wide with a revelation.

Yukiko was strangely staring at Souji, as if she had never seen him before... or if she was seeing him in a different light after that spectacle. Yosuke wasn't really sure what that expression meant, or how he felt about it.

And Souji- Souji was actually staring at Yosuke and his mouth was moving.

"Are you alright?" He was saying.

Yosuke jerked his head up embarrassed, blushing and rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Perfectly fine!" He yelped when Souji slid closer and stared at him intently. Their faces were closer and Yosuke had to fight to not stare at him.

"You don't look fine," he observed. "Are you sick?"

"No-no, I'm not sick. I'm perfectly healthy," Yosuke insisted, trying to calm his blush as she looked away from Souji, instead meeting Yukiko's gaze.

The dark-haired girl's eyes were indecipherable as she calmly interrupted, "May I speak to you, Yosuke-kun?"

"U-uh, sure, Yukiko-san." Yosuke answered slowly, wondering what that was all about. He looked at Souji, who shrugged. Yukiko stood and Yosuke confusedly followed her outside where they were alone.

As soon as Yosuke closed the door behind them, Yukiko started glaring intently at him, an expression he had only seen once or twice on her, and that was in the TV world at that, never directed at him or the Team. He blankly asked, "Um, Yukiko-san? D-did I do something to make you want to kill me?"

Instead of cooling off like he expected, though, Yukiko's shoulders slumped although she still looked angry. After an awkward silence, her face crumpled and she murmured something he didn't hear.

"Er... what?"

Yukiko's face flushed more and she leaned against the wall of the Dojima's house. "I need your help, Yosuke-kun."

Yosuke's eyebrows raised automatically in response. What would Yukiko need his help for? Before he had to search his mind for an answer, the Amagi went on.

"I... Did... Have you ever talked with Souji-kun about us? The girls, I mean. Or girls in general, because-"

Yosuke's sudden violent cough attack cut her off as he choked on his own spit, a wild revelation coming to his mind that he could see was true in an instant after Yukiko started talking.

She liked him. Yukiko liked him.

_Yukiko liked Souji._

Yosuke couldn't make sense of the flurry of thoughts flying through his mind. That one sentence was the only one that stood out through all the other. _Yukiko liked Souji._ As in a romantic sense, as in _Yukiko wanted to kiss Souji_ and _Yukiko wanted to date Souji_ and that wasn't right, because Souji didn't date people, right?

He hadn't talked about any former girlfriends or anyone. But obviously he had to have some experience, Yosuke figured blankly, a guy with his popularity could get any girl he wanted.

The thing was, Souji had never even gone into that realm of thoughts Yosuke so often delved into at night and other times. He had never answered Yosuke's questions about his type, or was always evasive when asked about which one of the girls he liked. So maybe- just maybe- he had liked Yukiko, and had never wanted anyone to know.

That thought made Yosuke's heart ache in a way it hadn't since his Shadow had come out a year ago, when he learned Saki-senpai had thought him an annoying pain in the ass.

"Yosuke-kun?" Yukiko was looking at him worriedly- Yosuke jumped and backed up away from her.

"I'm fine, everything's cool, just- you- you and Souji?" His voice seemed to have reached girlishly high levels, but maybe it was just him.

Yukiko gazed at the ground between them. "Yeah," she said finally. "And- and do you think you could help me?"

The idea of actually helping her with that was even more preposterous, but Yosuke looked at the trembling Yukiko as she talked. "I mean, he's your best friend-" _Partner,_ Yosuke's thoughts interjected- "and he talks to you and maybe you could, you know, direct him towards me? Put in a good word in your guy talks or whatever?"

She was giving the puppy dog eyes, and Yosuke couldn't resist a girl who had puppy dog eyes and knew how to use them, like Yukiko or Rise. Before his mind could protest, his mouth spit out,

"Yeah, Yukiko-san, I can do that."

Yukiko giggled, and then composed herself again, but not before hugging Yosuke tightly around the waist. Dimly he noticed he didn't react as much as he normally would to a girl hugging him, his thoughts somewhere else. "Thank you so much, Yosuke-kun. I'll see you inside?" She asked rhetorically, to which Yosuke only nodded, and the Amagi disappeared inside Dojima's house.

Yosuke stared out into nothing as ironically, it started to rain. Just like his mood had plummeted.

Yosuke Hanamura was going to help one of his closest girlfriends to try and catch his best friend, his _partner._

The partner he may or may not be attracted to.

..._What the hell do I do now?_


	4. Not All Fun And Games

**Title: **Finding Home

**Author: **Bonnia

**Rating: **T

**Warnings:** Some language

**Summary: **A year after the events of Persona 4, Souji wants to go home to Inaba but his parents say no. So he does the logical thing; hops on a train during the night and goes anyway. Nothing can break the bonds between him, Yosuke, and the rest of his team- not even two pesky parents. Souji/Yosuke, Naoto/Rise.

**Disclaimer:** Is there anyone here who thinks I own Persona 4? -raises hand, then lowers- Nope, me neither.

**Author's Note: **Mkay, third chapter here. Ooh, Yosuke's got some competition... This is really just filler, with some important bits at the end, and it's short but has to be thrown in there. The drama appears in Chapter 5, for sure- that's what I'm slowly working through now. And in other news, chapter titles are here! Even if they are crappy, just like the cover. Chapter Two's was pulled out of nowhere, although the rest I had in mind.

* * *

And thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far! I'll try to respond to all of them, even if it's just a short 'Thanks'. :D

Chie was worried.

Although Yukiko hadn't really told anyone(except maybe Yosuke, after what had just happened), she knew exactly what her best friend was thinking when she looked at Souji. It was what she had first thought, too when she met the transfer student and got to know him-

he was _really_ cute.

Souji Seta had almost everything someone could want in life. He was handsome, brave, strong, caring and understanding about others, popular, talented, and all sorts of other things. It was not hard to see that most every girl that knew him in their town harbored some kind of crush on him, including his cousin Nanako and Chie herself.

Although, that crush had kind of faded away as they explored the TV. Yes, the two had gotten closer when they saved Yukiko, Kanji, and the others, but as Chie learned more about Souji she began seeing him more as a person and less as this... sex god that some girls made him out to be.

He had hobbies- he didn't sit around and just be awesome. He liked to fish, and make paper cranes, and feed cats. He also didn't just hang out with Yosuke for no reason like the rumors said- he honestly liked Yosuke.

Chie did too, of course, but sometimes he could be so frustrating.

The point was, Chie saw how Yukiko was beginning to see Souji, and she didn't like it much. Because Souji had never shown any interest in girls in Inaba besides some honest comments, like on the school trip or the festival, and Chie didn't know what would happen if Yukiko got it in her head to confess her crush to him.

Souji wouldn't break her heart, though- he would let her down gently. Right?

Thinking, Chie watched their leader. At the moment he was questioning Rise and Naoto about their new relationship, but his eyes always flickered towards the front door, where Yosuke was still out there.

Finally, the door slid open and Yosuke popped back in with wet hair and a damp sweatshirt. Souji looked at him bemusedly as he took the sweatshirt off and slipped his shoes off again.

"Uh, Yosuke?" Chie asked, confused.

Yosuke glanced over to her, but didn't really look at her; his gaze was matching Souji's also curious one. "It's raining," he said by way of an explanation.

"And you just decided to go stand out in the rain?" She went on, now rolling her eyes. Yosuke chuckled and plopped himself on the floor beside her, shaking his head and sprinkling droplets of water around. "Hey, stop it! You're getting me wet, Yosuke," she complained.

Yosuke laughed again before he was suddenly being strangled from behind by Teddie's arms; the blond had frolicked upstairs after Nanako to go find some games and apparently, they were done. "Yooosuke! Guess who this is!" He chirped, now covering Yosuke's eyes with his hands.

As that happened, Chie scooted over to Yukiko and whispered in her ear, "Are you sure?" The dark-haired Amagi jumped and looked at her in surprise, but then sadness prevailed in her gaze as it switched back to Souji, laughing at Yosuke and Teddie.

"Yes, I'm sure. And I'm going to do it."

Wide-eyed, Chie could only stare as Yukiko promptly got up and sat on the other side of the kotatsu, next to him.

Blankly, she thought, _This isn't going to end well, Yukiko... I just know it._

* * *

This was a horrible idea.

Not that it was horrible because it was Nanako-chan's; Yosuke frantically clarified in his mind. Just...

This was a _really_ bad idea.

Nanako had come down from upstairs with a strangely familiar swath of white plastic in her arms. As soon as Rise had recognized it, she immediately squealed and made the boys move the kotatsu so they could, quote, "get this party started!".

So now, the Investigation Team(minus Teddie, who sat on the couch with Nanako) were all situated around one old, creased Twister board. Cramped for space in the Dojima's living room, Yosuke situated himself between Souji and Chie, one chuckling at his uncomfortable look and the other bouncing from one foot to the other excitedly.

On Souji's other side, Yukiko stood primly and watched their leader. Next to her, Kanji had his head in his hands in dread, and Rise and Naoto were on the other side.

"Oooo-kay!" Rise cheered, holding the box and then randomly tossing it behind her. Chie snorted next to him. "Let's do this! Nanako-chan, ssppppiiin that wheel!"

Nanako giggled, spun the spinner, and the torture began.

"Left foot green!"

That was easy enough, Yosuke thought as he stepped forward with his left foot to place it on the green dot. Beside him, Souji gently leaned forward and placed his on the same spot(there weren't enough spots for everyone); their toes touched and Yosuke's heart started beating a little harder.

Did Souji had electric shock powers outside of the TV? _No, that's stupid_, Yosuke thought rapidly.

"Right hand red!"

"Oh, come on!" Rise complained as she had to stretch across the board. Leaning forward into a lunge, Yosuke leaned on his right hand heavily on the red spot, not understanding the fun in playing this game.

"Why're we doin' this?" Kanji grumbled as he basically did a one-handed pushup across the board.

Nobody answered as Teddie now chimed, "Right leg blue!"

"And," he added, smirking, "to make it extra fun, Sensei's the only one who can share spots! Everyone else had to find their own spot, and then Sensei'll join!"

Souji smirked as everyone else groaned. Yosuke glared at him, to which Souji only chuckled, and then swore to see all the spots around him were taken.

Leaning on his left hand, crossed under his right, he slid his foot towards the end and the last blue space, nudging it under Chie who protested wildly.

"It's not like I want to!" He snapped back, looking down at his pose sarcastically. "I feel like Jiraiya, the disco ninja frog."

There was an odd silence as everyone looked at him strangely. Then-

"Snrk... pfft... BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"

At Yukiko's sudden laugh attack, everyone started laughing. The Amagi's guffaws were so wild, though, she rolled over and touched the ground, which meant she was out.

Chie lifted her hand to her face, facepalming at her best friend. Consequently, she lost her balance and tumbled over, meaning she was out. As she did so, she swiped Yosuke's foot out from under him.

"Oh, crap!" Yosuke yelped as he was unsteadied and fell backwards onto- yep, Souji. Their combined weight knocked Souji to the floor, and his hand was wrapped around Rise's so she fell backwards and swiped Naoto's legs out from under her.

After all that confusion, the group fell silent and stared at Kanji, who looked like he had just realized something.

"Wait- I won? ... OH YEAH!"

* * *

Dojima had no idea what he was getting into when he walked in to see Tatsumi standing triumphantly on their couch, being bowed down to by the blond boy- Teddie? But he knew it couldn't be good.

He nearly walked in straight away, interrupting them, but at the last second decided to stand between the two doors and listen in for a moment, see what Souji was up to with his friends. That's what a good uncle did, right?

Straining his ears, he could make out a girl- maybe Satonaka- saying, "Kanji, we get it. You don't need to shove it in our faces."

"But-"

"Ah, give it a rest Chie," that was Hanamura, for sure. "At least this's one thing he can win."

Tatsumi sounded relieved for a moment, and Ryotaro rolled his eyes at the dense punk. "Thanks, Yosuke-senpai- wait, HEY!"

A chorus of laughter ensued as it sounded like Hanamura was being chased around their living room. _They better not break anything,_ he thought roughly, then decided he could distinctly make out Souji and Nanako's laughter in the group. He hadn't heard Nanako this happy since last year, and it was always nice to hear Souji relaxing with people he knew. _Ah, what the hell. _

The group's laughter died down and Dojima heard the TV flicker on- a scowl crossed his features for a moment at the thought of Nanako's TV habit, but he pushed it away to focus instead on the group's conversation that had suddenly gotten quieter.

"Hey," that was Satonaka again, "do you guys think maybe... um... we should go in the TV sometime while Souji-kun's here? To like, make sure everything's okay?"

Dojima knew what they were talking about, even if he didn't believe them. Nobody would believe them about a world inside a TV, but that was where they had been saved.

That was where Namatame had taken Nanako... to _save_ her.

That was where Adachi-

Dojima walked inside.

The conversation disappeared as Dojima slung his coat over a chair and chuckled at their shocked expressions. "I'm back," he said redundantly.

Nanako jumped up from her seat and ran to Ryotaro, hugging him around the legs. "Hi dad! Onii-chan and the others let me play with them!"

Dojima smiled and patted his daughter on the head. "Are you having fun?" He asked her. Nanako grinned.

"Yeah!"

Ryotaro laughed and moved into the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee. It was never a bad time for coffee, he reflected. As he did that, he turned his head to look at the group of teenagers who were now just sitting awkwardly on the couch. "You guys can talk or whatever. Ignore me," he laughed at their discomfort.

Souji broke their silence by his chuckle. The rest of the group finally joined in as Dojima sat down at their table and pulled up the day's paper, raking his mind for anything else he needed to do that night. Working habits didn't fade away quickly.

Then he paused with a sudden thought- _shit, I need to call Michiko._ Standing quickly, he walked to the calender and found the note with her phone number on it, since he could never remember it. It's not as if they were close.

"Souji," he called, and his nephew looked up. "I'm gonna call your mom, kay? She may want to talk to you."

Immediately Souji's eyes grew hard, but he nodded. Dojima didn't wait to see what the rest of his friends would say, instead heading outside with his cell in hand.

Dialing the long-distance number, he tapped his foot anxiously as it rang and thought about what he was supposed to say. _'Oh hey sis, by the way your son ran away because you don't love him anymore.'_ How the hell would she respond to that?

Just before he was about to give up, a click was heard and his sister's voice rang through the connection. It sounded unfamiliar, but rushed with maybe a tinge of worry. "Ryotaro! Is Souji there?" She rushed out.

"Yeah, he's here. And who's fault is that?" Ryotaro spit out before his brain started thinking.

"Wha- it's his, obviously. Get him on the phone."

Scowling, Ryotaro ground out, "Not before you and I have a chance to talk," and then delved into his rant. "Michiko, I may have not been a very good father before Souji woke me up to my problems, but at least Nanako never ran away."

He deliberately failed to mention that she had, in fact, ran away once.

"Why couldn't he come back here for a week? I mean, his grades have to be impeccable, the kid's a genius. You couldn't have believed that he wanted to start on his studying. I think-"

"I thought," Michiko interrupted him impatiently, "that he was a good kid and listened to his parents. He always has before- something in your little town must have changed him. Are you sure he didn't get into anything there?"

Dojima wanted to scream sometimes with his sister's inability to actually see what was going on past her own problems. "He found a _family_ here, Michiko," he growled. "I- I care about him, and he's become Nanako's favorite person, and then there's Hanamura and the rest of his friends-"

"Yes, he said he had friends there, but he never told us about them. And can I assume this Hanamura is the same Yosuke he was always mentioning? He's never formed bonds like this before- who the hell is this kid, anyway?"

Ryotaro paused, not sure how to explain his friendship with Hanamura, or even how much of a friendship it was. "He's just a fellow transfer student, but the point is Michiko, he wants to stay. So, why the hell can't he?"

"_Because!_" His sister's angry voice yelled through the phone's tinny speaker, hurting his ear even from Inaba. "He's going to come home and then he's going to work and take over the family business, and he has no business in some crappy town like Inaba!"

Trying not to let his temper get the best of him and failing, Ryotaro snarled into the phone, "Why don't you think about him for once, Michiko! The kid had fun here. Maybe he doesn't want to take over your effing business. Maybe he has friends here, people he loves and people who love him. You sure don't, or at least you don't act like it."

His sister gasped in shock, and an awkward silence filled the air. Shuffling on his porch, Dojima sighed.

"I'm not gonna take that back, because I meant it. Just... let him be with his friends for a while. Maybe it'll have a good influence on him, and he'll be more ready to come back and stay with you guys after Golden Week."

Michiko's parting words hung in the air ominously, long after she'd hung up. "I guess we'll see that for ourselves."

**Edited for line breaks, 'cause I'm an idiot.**


	5. The Calm Before The Storm

**Title: **Finding Home

**Author: **Bonnia

**Rating: **T

**Warnings:** Language, maybe some allusions to sexual activities. OOC in the beginning, I think.

**Summary: **A year after the events of Persona 4, Souji wants to go home to Inaba but his parents say no. So he does the logical thing; hops on a train during the night and goes anyway. Nothing can break the bonds between him, Yosuke, and the rest of his team- not even two pesky parents. Souji/Yosuke, Naoto/Rise.

**Disclaimer: **Gosh, I've never met someone that thought I was important to own Atlas! Oh, you don't believe that? Darn, me neither.

**Author's Note: **Ach, I'm so sorry this took so long, guys. I wanted to finish Chapter 5 before I put this out, but I got writer's block, and that's not a good excuse at all... This chapter's longer than the last, though, by 3 pages if it helps- although it's full of crappy filler. Now, I have some news: I'm going to be attempting Camp NaNoWriMo in August, which means updates will come to a halt then. I might keep writing for this, but my muse is pushing me towards this Pirate Hetalia story, so that'll probably take priority. I'll post Chapter 5 before then, though, for sure. Thanks for sticking with me, and reviewing everyone, anonymous too!

* * *

Souji knew something was wrong as soon as his Uncle walked back inside. It was his clenching fist and set jaw that gave it away- after that one year he knew his uncle's moods moderately well.

He was almost afraid to ask of what his mom had said, but at the same time he desperately wanted to know. What if she had demanded he come home? What if she had said he could stay, but with some kind of prerequisite?

And the most frightening one; what if she just didn't care?

Souji wasn't close to his parents, but he wanted their acceptance. He wanted everyone's acceptance; that was one of the reasons he tried so hard to help everyone. If they accepted him, then maybe some of them would care when he left, right?

But with the Investigation Team, he didn't have to try. They accepted him the way he was, no matter what.

Breaking himself out of his thoughts, the silver-haired teen stood and walked over to Dojima. "Uncle...?" He asked slowly.

Dojima looked him straight in the eyes, and- Souji paused, still caught in his uncle's gaze. Was that... guilt?

"Er, Souji." He muttered. "I think your parents may be coming to Inaba."

Souji froze, wide-eyed. _Wait... WHAT? My parents... Inaba? _

One word came out of his mouth after that revelation. "Shit."

He wasn't the kind of person to swear at all- he couldn't remember ever really swearing in Inaba- but this situation was one that warranted it. He didn't move for a moment, then his legs decided to rebel and he needed to sit down. Blearily trying to get over to the couch, Souji would have tripped onto his face if it wasn't for Yosuke jumping up and grabbing his shoulders to hold him up.

"Whoa, partner! Are you alright?" He questioned worriedly, guiding Souji down to his seat.

Souji couldn't really answer him at the moment, simply staring into space.

His parents were coming to Inaba. His 'parents', meaning the workaholics that hated their house messy, always wanted his grades to be impeccable, attended meetings and social gatherings dressed up like kings and queens...

They were coming to Inaba- small-town, rough Inaba, where everyone gossiped about everyone and where murders had occurred in TVs. It was just preposterous, insane to even imagine.

"Partner? Hey... Souji!" Yosuke's voice snapped him out of his thoughts again, and Souji jerked his head up to nearly bash it into Yosuke's face. The brunette squealed and moved away quickly, shocked. His brown eyes were wide and innocent.

"Holy crap, don't do that!"

"Er, right. Sorry." Souji replied blankly, and Yosuke's worried expression came back as he kneeled in front of him.

"Dude, are you okay?"

"My parents are coming to Inaba," he said by way of an explanation, still incoherent of more than short thoughts.

The Investigation Team looked around at each other, shocked. "What's so bad about that?" Yukiko voiced their thought quietly, and then slyly slid her hand onto Souji's. Their leader looked down at it blankly, then answered.

"They're going to hate this place."

"What? Why?" Both Kanji and Rise responded indignantly.

"Because," Souji replied, oddly emotional, "they're all high and mighty. They'll find everyone here crude because they aren't in universities or good schools, and... I think they won't like you guys."

He looked up, brutal honesty and vulnerability in his gray eyes. "I want them to like you. I want them to like me," his voice had sunken to a whisper. "Why can't they do that?"

His parents had never really been interested in who he was friends with, but that was because he didn't really have any friends and was a good boy. Now, he was running away and Souji was absolutely sure they would want to meet them. He didn't think it would go very well.

Nobody knew what to say as they stared at their leader quietly. Finally, Yosuke broke their silence by spontaneously wrapping his arms around Souji's shoulders and hugging him. Souji liked the warmth radiating off of him. He wanted to be warm.

"We like you," he murmured.

Souji laughed, a high slightly hysterical laugh. "Yeah, I know Yosuke. I like you guys too."

And despite the fact he was saying it to all of them, in his mind he was only talking to Yosuke.

* * *

For all of her analytic prowess, Naoto for the life of her could not figure out Souji Seta.

That wasn't for lack of trying, though.

Ever since she had met the gray-haired boy back in- _April? It felt like so long ago-_ of her first year, she had trouble finding out what he was thinking. Part of it was the fact that they weren't very close, not close at all in fact, but another part of it was that his actions were so damn confusing.

One moment he would be closed off and formal with them, the next he would be laughing or chuckling at whatever stupid thing someone had just said or done. He was an enigma, one that Naoto swore she would figure out.

And although her senpai's sudden breakdown was certainly showing his true feelings about something for once, it didn't help her figure him out anymore.

Naoto didn't have parents to worry about, but even if she did she couldn't fathom the idea of not wanting them around. If one has family, one should cherish and want to spend time with them, should they not? That's what she thought as she looked at Souji's confused face.

But if that idea was true, then the IT was definitely Naoto's family.

Everyone was just so crazy and weird in it, and that held them together. She also had her relationship with Rise, which was indescribable and awkward at times, but at the same time when they were together, it felt like Naoto was complete for once in her life.

At other times, it was just really annoying, especially when Rise came up with absurd ideas to embarrass them all.

Truth or Dare was her latest, and most dangerous one, and the one they were foolishly about to engage in.

Nanako-chan had gone to bed a few minutes before, pouting and wanting to stay with Souji until he smiled and promised her she could come out with him tomorrow to see some of his other school friends.

Dojima had trailed upstairs after her, giving Souji an understanding look and patting him on the head once before looking around at the rest of them. There was an awkward silence as they waited anxiously for whatever he had to say, but then he just smiled lopsidedly. "Don't stay up too late," was his advice.

So, now they were all spontaneously sleeping over at Souji's uncle's house, without any supplies and plans be damned. Naoto grumbled at the wildness of it, but Rise only giggled and squeezed her hand, then announced that it was time for some "teenage games".

Meaning Truth or Dare, which was undoubtably going to fail.

After a short protest from some members, namely Naoto and Yosuke, the idea was set and they all sat around the kotatsu. Teddie had no idea what this game was, but he had obviously decided to play too, snuggling up to Souji, who had Yosuke settled on his other side. Yukiko-senpai didn't look too happy about that, but that was a topic for Naoto to pore over another time.

"Okay... Kanji!" Rise started happily. "Truth or Dare?"

Kanji, as always, decided to show off his manliness and pick the wild one. "Dare, of course!" He proclaimed.

Rise giggled and put one finger to her chin as she pretended to think deeply. "Hmm... I dare you... to run around the Dojimas house three times!"

Kanji's eyes lit up at such an easy dare, and he stood up eagerly.

"While galloping and screaming 'I'm a pretty unicorn'," Rise then tacked on with a wicked grin. Kanji's smug grin turned to a gape of horror and shock, while the rest looked at her with astonishment.

Naoto chuckled and looked over at Rise. "Nice one," was all she said.

Yosuke-senpai watched her Rise nervously. "I'm kind of scared of how the rest of this game's gonna go," he said as Kanji trudged to the door.

Souji laughed and slung one arm over his shoulders lazily. Yosuke-senpai looked almost triumphant, and Naoto filed both of those details back in her mind for later analysis.

The Investigation Team all waited with bated breath, Naoto rolling her eyes but still feeling a twinge of anticipation as the door closed.

Kanji's thunderous roars of _"I'M A PRETTY UNICORN!"_ had them all rolling on the ground in stitches.

The dripping-wet punk trudged back in and collapsed onto a chair, glaring angrily at all of the still laughing teens. "I'mma get you for that, Rise-san," he grumbled, but their laughter didn't fade.

Dojima's call down the stairs of "Be quieter next time, Tatsumi!" had even Naoto and Kanji in tears, the blue-haired detective looking around and thanking whatever gods were out there that she had such a wonderful family.

* * *

Surrounded by friends all giggling like the giddy schoolgirls half of them were, Yosuke felt more comfortable than he had in a long time. Never mind the fact that he was probably going to be dared to do something horribly embarrassing, in here with Souji's arm around his neck- was it just him, or was it _really_ warm in here- and with the rest of the team things felt right.

After their giddy laughter trailed off, although Yukiko's giggled still persisted, Kanji muttered, "Yukiko-senpai, truth or dare?"

Yukiko straightened, still giggling. Chie facepalmed next to her as the Amagi tried to compose herself. "Oh-um, heehee, truth," she finally got out.

Kanji paused. "Uh, what's the worst thing you ever done?"

A short silence prevailed as Yukiko brainstormed. Finally she said, "I think it was when I ran away."

At that, everybody except Chie and Souji leaned forward in their seats, intrigued. "When was that, Yuki-chan?" Teddie chirped, not really understanding but eager to be involved.

"When I was younger," Yukiko replied. "I found a stray dog, but my parents wouldn't let me keep him so I ran away."

"And that's when she met me!" Chie grinned cheerfully, smiling at Yukiko.

Yosuke arched an eyebrow(with some difficulty). "So that's where Chie's fat lump of a dog came from?" She slapped him in the leg. "Oww! Dammit woman, it's true isn't it."

"Yeah," Chie pouted, "but only me an' Yukiko're allowed to say it"

Yosuke glared at her.

"Okay, Okay! Yuki-chan, pick someone!" Teddie flourished, spreading sparkles everywhere.

Yukiko answered immediately, and it wasn't the name Teddie was looking for, Yosuke could tell for sure. "Souji-kun, truth or dare."

Souji hummed, and Yosuke imagined he could feel the vibrations through the arm on his shoulder. "Truth."

Yosuke had a feeling he knew exactly what Yukiko was going to ask, and his suspicions were confirmed when the Amagi's nervous voice rang out. "Souji-kun, did you ever think... _romantically_ about someone in the team?"

However, his frank answer shocked them all. "Yes, I have."

Jumping away from him as if he had just cast Zio, Yosuke sputtered incoherently. "Wh-Wha-What?" He nearly screeched. "You never told me that," Yosuke accused bitterly. He had liked one of them all this time, and hadn't told him?

Despite the fact that his soul ached for other reasons, he couldn't help but feel betrayed.

Souji watched him through lidded eyes, and Yosuke scowled at his being all relaxed, that jerk. "I didn't find a reason to tell you," he informed him. "Besides, back then we weren't as close as we were now." Was he trying to justify it?

"Well... maybe... but still-"

"Yosuke." Souji's voice had changed from the friendly voice to the leader one, and it froze Yosuke in his rant. His partner's tone softened as he went on, "If I liked anyone now, I'd tell you. Sit down... please?"

With the pleading tone Yosuke's anger dissolved and he slid back down to the couch. Only then did he notice the rest of the team gaping.

Rise broke the awkward silence as she normally did, with a short giggle. "So senpai, do we get to find out who the lucky girl is? Or was, apparently?" She pouted adorably.

Souji chuckled. "Never."

With his reply the cheerful mood came back to the room, although Yosuke couldn't shake off the feeling Souji was keeping something from him. He didn't even look at Yukiko for fear of what the dark-haired girl looked like.

Nevertheless, with the gray-haired teenager's vocation of "Yosuke, truth or dare?" he answered immediately, putting on the cheerful mask he wore so often.

"Dare, of course!"

Souji tapped his chin, talking on a speculative look. "Hmm... I've got an idea, but I don't want to make you sick..." He watched Yosuke, whose stomach revolted but his pride wouldn't let him back down.

"Hell yeah, bring it on partner."

Souji stood. "If you say so." He then walked slowly over to the Dojima's fridge, opening it and rummaging inside. Yosuke's dread rose with every word he said. "I want you... to try and eat... some of this."

He stood up and slowly turned around, his chosen method of torture in his hands.

It was a pot of grass.

"W-Wh- _What the FUCK?"_

As the rest of the team either laughed or gaped, and Yosuke just stammered incoherently, Souji explained. "Nanako's science project last year was a pot of grass. They must still be doing it, or nobody's cleaned out this fridge. Probably the latter."

"Bu-wha- dude! What if I get sick from that?" Yosuke gestured wildly to the grass.

Souji still had on his poker face. "I didn't."

"Wh-yea-but- that's beside the point!" Yosuke squealed, then groaned. "I'll hate you forever for this," he muttered as he snatched the grass from Souji's hands and trudged back to the couch.

"What are you doing?" Teddie questioned as he sat down.

"Sitting in case I pass out."

Yosuke swallowed and looked at the pot of grass nervously. _Well, if Souji can do I guess I can try._ "Wish me luck..."

He ripped off the top of part of the grass, looked down at it and then up at the rest of the team, who were staring at him expectantly. "Go on," Chie waved her hand flippantly, looking like she enjoyed his pain.

Yosuke rolled his eyes at her and then shoved the grass in his mouth.

Almost immediately his gag reflex came up, but Yosuke covered his mouth with his hand and struggled to swallow it. Blades of it poked his throat, and the bitter bland taste was killing his taste buds, but Yosuke endured it and eventually swallowed it all. As soon as he did, he curled up on the couch and moaned piteously.

"I hate you so much, Souji..." he groaned. The team just laughed and started a round of applause for him rowdily. He stuck his tongue out next to him.

A weight settled on the couch that Yosuke could only assume was Souji. The hand on his shoulder was Souji's, that was for sure. "Well, you asked for it," he chuckled. Yosuke growled at him.

"Chie, truth or dare," he muttered. The brown-haired girl perked up.

"Ooh... dare!" She hissed out. Yosuke sat up, stomach still rebelling, and hummed smugly.

"Kay, then... I dare you to..."

* * *

The Seekers of Truth spent two more hours like that, lounged around the Dojimas' living room exchanging stories and daring each other to more extreme things. Naoto and Yukiko were two of the more composed of them, both choosing truth every time. As a result of that, they kept getting wilder and wilder questions, such as Teddie's "Will you teach me how to score?" that sent the detective fleeing to hide in the bathroom until Rise could coax her out.

For the dares side, someone had made Souji eat Nanako's pudding, which was kind of bad, seeing as it was, well, Nanako's, but at the same time it was quite good pudding. Yosuke had been dared to sing for them, which he did shyly(he really did have a pretty voice, Souji reflected fondly), and Chie hopped on one foot until she stubbed her toe on the kotatsu and fell over. Rise had tried to delve into the more sexual dares, but Naoto and the rest of them quickly dampened that idea before it started, to her annoyance. The group didn't need any romantic troubles right now when they were already having a good time.

Of course, by the looks Yukiko had been giving him all night, Souji knew that wasn't going to last.

He couldn't help that he didn't like her, just like he couldn't help that he had fallen in love with Yosuke Hanamura. It just happened. He knew it wouldn't be pretty when she found out, though.

Souji wanted to put that off as long as possible.

At the moment, he was engaged in pulling multiple piles of blankets out of the Dojima's closet for everyone to sleep on. Kanji was standing next to him getting the higher ones, and after lots of complaining and groaning, Yosuke was helping Chie move the table out of the way so they all had space.

Souji wasn't actually sure how they were all going to fit in the living room, since it wasn't exactly spacious, but he figured they'd figure something out.

Besides, even being scrunched together in a tiny room with the IT would be better than being alone in his spacious, empty room back in Tokyo.

"Oi, senpai?" Kanji tapped him on the shoulder, and Souji nearly jumped in surprise. "Ya alright?" The blond's voice was quiet, although that wasn't strange for Kanji, at least most of the time.

"Hmm? Yeah, I"m fine Kanji." He said, closing the closet door and preparing to carry the sheets away, but Kanji stopped with one hand on his shoulder.

"Ya know, senpai, we're always here for ya, with your family and stuff," he muttered, looking away and blushing. Souji smiled and nodded, feeling the bonds between them.

"Yeah. Thanks, Kanji," he said honestly, before carrying the cloth over to the living room and dumping them on the couch. The rest of the Investigation Team crowded around him, looking at the small space.

"Is this gonna-" Chie started to say, but was cut off by Teddie's wild squeal as the blond randomly jumped into the pile of blankets.

"I'm sleeping next to Sensei!" He declared.

Yosuke snorted. "Dude, there's barely any room, we're _all _sleeping next to Sensei."

Yukiko, being the neat girl that she was, started organizing the blankets and Naoto joined her, pulling one out from under Teddie's stomach. Eventually they had them all folded nicely, with a sheet on the floor. Then everyone stared at the ground awkwardly some more.

Finally, Teddie broke it once again. "I'll sleep on the couch!" He cheered, snatching up one of the blankets and tossing himself down. Rise giggled and pulled Naoto down next to her, nearest the couch. Next was Kanji, who shrugged and lay down right in front of the other people still standing, his feet down by the Dojimas' TV and his head facing away from Rise.

Chie smiled and grabbed Yukiko's wrist, pulling her down at the other girls' feet. Suddenly it was just Souji and Yosuke still standing, and everyone looking up expectantly at them.

"I thought you said you were sleeping next to him, Ted," Yosuke muttered as he unlooped his headphones from his neck and pulled his MP3 player out of his pocket, placing both on the hall cabinet below the calendar. "If anyone touches these, I will murder them with wind," he threatened.

Souji snickered at his protectiveness and lay down next to Yukiko. He felt, rather than saw, her tense up next to him, but pretended not to have noticed as Yosuke awkwardly slid in.

There was a strange silence for a moment, then a loud snore filled the air and everyone broke out in muffled laughter. "I-should've warned you Ted does that," Yosuke chuckled behind his hand.

Eventually their laughter faded and was replaced with quiet whispers of "Good night everyone" and "'Night."

Souji lay down on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He was just as frozen as Yukiko next to him, who was as stiff as a board on her side, but for a different reason. Yosuke was on his other side, getting comfortable into his pillow, and eventually nodding off.

Glancing to the side, Souji could tell that he'd fallen asleep already by his calm, even breathing. That and the fact that a second later, Yosuke turned and slung an arm across his stomach. Gasping and pulling in his breath, Souji didn't move until he was absolutely, positively sure that Yosuke was asleep, and then glanced around at the rest of the Team.

Everyone seemed calm, free from the troubles of their daily lives. With the fact that he was back among his true friends in his mind, Souji draped his arm on top of Yosuke's and closed his eyes, drifting into the first peaceful dream he'd had in a long time.


	6. I Want To Know The Truth

**Title: **Finding Home

**Author: **Bonnia

**Rating: **T

**Warnings:** Someone's horrible swearing, that same someone's also probably OOCness, kissing, insinuations of sexual activities.

**Summary: **A year after the events of Persona 4, Souji wants to go home to Inaba but his parents say no. So he does the logical thing; hops on a train during the night and goes anyway. Nothing can break the bonds between him, Yosuke, and the rest of his team- not even two pesky parents. Souji/Yosuke, Naoto/Rise.

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Persona 4, you'd be able to date guys. Namely Yosuke. Sadly, I can't date Yosuke in the game, only in my mind.

**Author's Note: **Chapter 5 is here~ This will probably be the last chapter before Camp NaNo, so until the end of August this is probably all that'll be there. Don't hurt me! *cowers * Well, to make up for it, this chapter is extra long, the longest yet at at about 5800 words. And filled with some surprises for you lovely readers~

* * *

The first thing Yosuke's senses became aware to when he woke up was the tantalizing smell of eggs and pancakes. The next thing he was aware of was a blinding flash of light in his face.

Rise's high-pitched giggles filled his ears. "Aww, isn't it cute?"

Throwing his right hand up in the air, Yosuke waved it feebly. "Stop that," he complained. He was about to get up when Chie stopped him.

"No, don't move!"

"Oh, am I getting living room service?" He joked, and by Chie's scowl, she was thinking of kicking him painfully.

"Actually," Naoto's crisp voice rang through the air, amused, "because Souji-senpai is currently using your left arm as a stuffed animal."

Yosuke's eyes widened instantly and he snapped his head over tot he right to see Souji curled up facing him, still sleeping. And sure enough, Yosuke's left arm was trapped between Souji's two crossed ones.

"Wh- what the- Souji! Dude!" He groaned, blushing and covering his face with his other hand, pulling his left arm. It wasn't much of an attempt, though. Rise and Chie laughed at him, while Naoto only chuckled and Yukiko didn't do anything at all. Moving his hand, Yosuke looked up and caught her gaze. "Yukiko-san...?" He pleaded, not knowing what he was pleading for.

_You're pleading that she'll give up on Souji and leave him to yourself,_ a tiny voice echoed in his head. Yosuke locked it away.

The Amagi looked down and her indescribable gaze held his. "Let him sleep," was all she said before leaving his line of sight.

"I sincerely hope she isn't going to express her feelings through trying to help Kanji-kun," Naoto muttered and disappeared too, with Rise trailing after her.

Chie knelt down near Yosuke's head and peered over him curiously, talking quietly. "Hey, d'you know what's wrong with Yukiko?" She asked worriedly

Pausing, Yosuke looked away and cleared his throat, keeping his voice steady. "No, of course not. Why would something be wrong with Yukiko-san?"

Chie sighed and said, "You can't lie to me, Yosuke." Yosuke's eyes snapped back towards hers, but instead of the indignation he expected to see there was only a sadness that didn't fit Chie. "Just...

"Make sure he lets her down gently, mkay?" And before Yosuke could respond, she disappeared as well.

Yosuke sighed explosively and laid his head back down on the pillow, trying to shift and get his arm more comfortable in Souji's grip. It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be, actually, Souji was really warm- or was that just Yosuke?

Nevertheless, he sort of enjoyed the feeling of being next to his partner as he slept.

Souji was always a calm, collected person when he was awake. When he was asleep, however, he let that down and his features smoothed out into a peaceful face. Without meaning to, Yosuke slowly started tracing his features with his eyes; Souji's strong jawline, long eyelashes, aristocratic nose, pink lips...

Then he caught himself, and shoved his face into the pillow to hid his blush. "Geez..." the brunette moaned, muffled by the pillow as he push any thoughts besides platonic ones about Souji out of his mind. Then he fell silent as next to him, Souji hummed incoherently and clutched Yosuke's arm to him as if it were a lifeline.

"Margaret..." his partner whispered breathlessly.

Yosuke jumped and stared at him wide-eyes as the sleeping Souji jerked his head. "No way..." he breathed. Souji wasn't having... _that_ kind of dream was he? And who the hell was Margaret?

"Wrong." Souji muttered, still sleep-talking. That was when Yosuke tried jerking his arm away from the gray-haired leader, so Yosuke resorted to shaking his shoulder violently with the other hand.

Finally, Souji's silver eyes slid open a fraction. Yosuke stopped shaking his shoulder, instead sitting back with a relieved, but still tense sigh. "Finally, you woke up."

"Hmm?" Souji hummed, sliding his eyes closed again and not having noticed he was still in control of Yosuke's limb. The brunette scowled and moved his hand, but Souji didn't do anything until he continued talking.

"Dude, your dream sounded really wrong. You were talking about some Margaret chick, and moaning and stuff. Is there something you're not telling me?"

His tone was light-hearted, but his gaze was dark and his mind was sluggish with the realization that maybe Souji did have someone he liked and didn't tell him last night because the team was there. _If he would tell me at all... _

Instantaneously, Souji sat up and let go of Yosuke's arm as if if were on fire, stumbling to his feet as Yosuke gaped. "Bathroom," was all he said before leaving, and Yosuke was left sitting on a pile of blankets wondering what the hell was with his best friend, and if this Margaret had anything to do with it.

* * *

Despite Yosuke's misconception, Souji had stumbled to the bathroom in a need for silence and aspirin, not... _another_ need. Downing two pills with some water and splashing more on his face, he took a seat on the closed toilet and parsed what had just happened in his mind.

For the first time in more than a year, he had been summoned to the Velvet Room.

The long-nosed Igor had not been in, but the beautiful limo attendant, Margaret of the Empress Arcana, had.

The last time he had seen her was the last time he had gone to the Velvet Room, on the day before he left Inaba. Their last meeting was cheerful and light-hearted. This one, however, was definitely not.

It was impossible, unbelievable to think the mystery wasn't over yet. They had defeated Adachi, put away Ameno-sagiri, and lifted the fog. Yet...

The TV world was still filled with fog and Shadows. He sill didn't know how he, Namatame, and Adachi had gotten their powers. And according to Margaret, they still hadn't fully seen the truth, which was the purpose of the 'Orb of Sight', currently burning a whole in his pajama pocket. She wouldn't have risked her job to tell him that if it wasn't true.

Souji didn't want to risk his friends' lives again, by any means. But at the same time, they had promised to uncover the truth, and apparently there were still some lies being told.

Grimacing, Souji stood and headed to his room to get dressed.

He had a murderer to visit.

* * *

"We're heading out," Chie called from the Dojima's doorway.

"See you later, Souji-kun," Yukiko chimed, giving a small wave and bright smile. Souji waved back halfheartedly as she slid the door closed, then sighed in slight relief.

The trio of kohai had left moments before, leaving just Yosuke and Teddie in the house. Teddie was chatting with Nanako and scarfing down some of Kanji's extra pancakes, while Yosuke was lounging on the couch, eyes closed, His orange headphones were clamped firmly over his head, faint notes making their way to Souji's ears.

Souji took a moment to observe him, gaze softening with affection as he watched the brunette absently tap his fingers and mouth some lyrics Souji couldn't make out. A few strands of hair hung over his eyes, and Souji suddenly had the urge to brush them out of his eyes and then run his hands through Yosuke's hair.

Abandoning that train of thought lest he get lost in the rest of his thoughts about his best friend, Souji walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. He smothered a chuckle as Yosuke jumped and then glared at him, headphones slipping down to his neck. The booming bass riff of Lotus Juice's 'Burn My Dread' floated through the air. "Dude, don't scare me like that! Geez."

"Can I talk to you?" Souji interrupted, unconsciously twisting his hands. Yosuke blinked curiously and nodded.

"Yeah, sure," he answered while flicking off his MP3 player. Silently the two made their way upstairs to Souji's room, the two boys dropping themselves onto the couch.

Souji leaned his head on the back of the couch and gathered his thoughts, feeling Yosuke watching him. After some contemplation he opened his gray eyes to meet Yosuke's brown ones. "That dream I was having this morning, it-"

"_DUDE! I do not want to know about that!_" Yosuke blurted out, interrupting him while scooting away from him, eyes wide and blushing redder than his pants.

Souji rolled his eyes, slightly irritated. "It wasn't that kind of dream," he insisted. When Yosuke looked skeptical he went on. "You know how I had that Velvet Room where Igor and another girl fused my Personas?" Yosuke nodded warily, and Souji sighed. "Well, I was summoned back there again last night."

Yosuke gave a small gasp. "You're kidding."

"Nope. And..." he trailed off.

"And...?" Yosuke prompted him interestedly, tilting his head to the side. Souji thought it kind of cute, but went on nonetheless.

"She said the mystery wasn't over, that we hadn't found the truth."

Silence reigned in the small room as Souji looked everywhere but at Yosuke, nervous of his reaction. Would he agree? Would he laugh and tell Souji that he was on something? Would he-

"You're lying."

Souji's neck cracked painfully as his head whipped towards Yosuke, not expecting _that_ answer. His best friend was scowling at him with a twisted expression Souji couldn't figure out. "I don't know what kind of dream that was, or whatever, but we caught the killer already. There's nothing more to learn," Yosuke hissed, his eyes uncharacteristically angry.

"You have to admit, there's-" Souji started, but was cut off by Yosuke jumping to his feet, shocking the silver-haired teenager.

"No. Look, _leader,_" that word was uttered with particular venom, "it's over. Can't you stop being the hero and give it up?"

Shocked by the accusation, Souji's normally calm temper began to flare. He had never _wanted_ to be the leader, was just shoved into that role by Yosuke and Chie, and eventually got used to it. He didn't lead them for kicks or anything. "Yeah? I'm surprised you don't want to go back in there, seeing as that's the only place you'll ever be a hero." Yosuke flinched, and Souji felt guilty for a moment. He almost started to apologize before Yosuke started talking again.

"I'd rather stay away from the truth, than end up finding out it's some _god_ that can kill us in one move," he retorted.

Souji glared at him. "What about the rest of the group? I think they'll value our promise enough to help me. Are you just going to be left out?"

Yosuke's face flushed as he stared straight at Souji, both of them angry and irrational. "Well, then maybe I will be. Maybe I'll just leave."

"Fine."

"Fine!"

The two stared at each other for a minute silently before Yosuke strode over to his bedroom door and slammed it behind him. The echoes of his stomps could be heard, and a roar of "Well, then _stay!_" reverberated through the wall. After that, there was silence.

His anger dissipating, Souji was suddenly faced with the reality of what happened, sighed heavily, and flopped down on his couch. Feeling his headache coming back, he tried to reflect on what had just happened.

He had _never_ fought with Yosuke. The only time that could even be considered a fight was when they wanted to throw Namatame into the TV. So what had just happened? And why was he so against continuing to search for the truth?

His thoughts were interrupted by a creak as the door to his room slid open a crack, Teddie and Nanako's worried faces appearing between it and the wall. "Are you and Yosuke-nii-chan fighting?" Nanako asked in a small voice.

Souji sighed. "Yep, definitely."

* * *

The rest of the afternoon went relatively calm compared to the morning Souji had had. He took Nanako around Inaba, visiting all his other school friends, some she hadn't even met, but all of them loved her. Souji enjoyed himself hanging out with people other than the Investigation Team, although that thought made him slightly guilty. It was just that he could be a normal person and not a leader with them, but at the same time he couldn't get as close to him because they didn't know anything about the experiences in the TV world.

Naoki, Ai, and Kou and Daisuke were all enthusiastic to see him, quite glad he was back. The 6 of them headed to Aiya and ate lots of food, and then started walking around the town while randomly reminiscing. At 3 o'clock, though, he told them he had to depart and then turned to Nanako.

"Hey Nanako?" he asked softly, stomach twisting in anticipation of where he was going to go. His little sister looked up at him and for some reason her gaze was somewhat resigned, which only made him feel worse.

"It's okay, onii-chan," she said. "You can go wherever you need to, don't worry about me."

Souji smiled faintly and kissed her on the forehead. "I'll walk you home," he said as they waved bye to the rest of Souji's friends.

The two headed back to the Dojima residence in silence, Souji trying to keep his thoughts away from what had happened this morning and what was about to happen. Nanako broke that, though, with her innocent question of "Where do you have to go, onii-chan?"

Souji paused, then sighed. "I'm going to see Adachi," he told her quietly. Nanako gave a quiet gasp.

"Really?"

"Yeah," he replied as they reached the door to the Dojimas' house. Souji knelt down and hugged Nanako tightly, as a reminder to himself she was still here. When he drew back, she was smiling at him.

"Okay. Be careful," she told him before walking inside and giving him a little wave. "Come home soon!"

Souji watched her with wide astonished eyes, unable to believe the fact that such a pure innocent girl could still live in these times. Then his expression darkened as he headed straight for the shopping district.

* * *

The 5 o'clock bus was packed with people commuting from work, so it was hard for Souji to find a seat. He did, though, squeezing in on the edge of a chair with a businessman who was chattering incessantly on his cell phone. Souji clenched his fists on his lap and tried to ignore him.

The silver-haired boy did not like crowded spaces like this- it made him feel uncomfortable, like he was only one in many people that didn't matter in the way of things.

Despite whatever he would say, Souji suspected that if he had a Shadow, part of what it would say would be about his need for attention and wanting to be someone in the world.

Finally, the driver of the bus called out over the intercom "Inaba Prison Compound," and Souji stood rapidly, jostling the man next to him who gave him a dirty glare. Souji ignored it and made his way to the front of the bus, nodding at the driver as he stepped off, the only departing passenger.

Before him loomed the prison, the place where Adachi would stay for life.

It seemed such a cold and dark place, Souji was inwardly surprised that Adachi had agreed to follow the rules in this world and be brought to justice if he would be trapped here for the rest of his days.

He thought he would go insane.

Shivering unconsciously despite the warm weather, Souji steeled himself and started heading towards the gate.

* * *

"Just yell if he starts threatening you or tries to strangle himself with the phone cord," the security guard informed him boredly, letting Souji into the communication room. The silver-haired teen nodded tersely, and received a curious stare in return as the door clicked shut.

Exhaling sharply, Souji settled down, or tired to in the cold metal chair, gripping the sides. He couldn't really believe hew as about to do this, but t had to be done in order to keep finding out the truth.

Going ahead and grasping the phone receiver, he kept his gaze on the table as motion flickered in the corner of his eye, not moving until a painfully familiar voice came out in a tinny sound from the phone.

"Oh, Seta-kun. Here to visit your favorite ex-detective?"

Souji slowly lifted his head to meet Tohru Adachi's eyes with his own. The man's gaze was wicked, seemingly light-hearted like his tone but layered with a mocking glare. He looked slightly emancipated and washed-out from the drab prison uniform, a sharp contrast to the suits Souji had always seen him in before.

"No?" Adachi gave him a fake pout. "Fine."

Souji didn't dignify that with a direct reply, choosing to get straight to the point. "The mystery isn't over."

A short silence reigned, until the sound of harsh laughter shocked Souji, still looking down. "Ha! Finally figured it out?"

Gray eyes flashed up to meet dark, nearly black ones as Souji watched Adachi intently. The man leaned back in his chair, arms crossed as he held the phone. "What do you mean?"

More laughter greeted him. "I knew that from the start, Seta. How dumb are you and your little friends?

"It obviously wasn't over; how the fuck did Namatame, you and me get our powers? They weren't there before this shithole of a town. And where'd the Midnight Channel come from, did'ya think of that? Obviously you didn't read that letter I sent you, did you." He accused. Souji just blinked, wide-eyed as the inmate went on.

"So, did you have a dream or something? Some creepy otherworld helper help you? 'Cause it sure doesn't look like you did it on your own." Adachi waved one hand in a dismissive gesture.

"I- ah- whatever. Just, how are they connected?" Souji pondered out loud, and Adachi scoffed.

"That's the problem, idiot. We _don't know._"

Souji ignored him, raking his mind back to when he had first arrived in Inaba, more than two years ago. He knew he had learned about the Midnight Channel from Chie, but he didn't know where she had heard it, or even where the rumor started. He also had been able to enter the TV without a Persona, like Adachi and Namatame had.

So maybe, something or someone had given them that power and started the Midnight Channel at the same time? Someone... behind everything?

"Bingo." Adachi stated in a bored tone, curling the phone line in one hand. Souji looked up and scowled at him for a moment.

"Do you remember meeting anyone when you first got here, that may have also interacted with Namatame and I?" He asked, keeping his voice steady.

Adachi's expression changed for a moment, and his eyes unfocused. "Yep, I remember someone telling me the rumors before I heard them at the station, but can't remember who."

Souji had the same exact feeling in his mind as he stood and pushed in the chair. Adachi seemed to come back to reality, faking a pout once again. "Aw, leaving so soon? I wanted to do some more talking... how're Dojima-san and Nanako-chan?"

"Don't talk about them," Souji hissed without thinking.

Adachi's expression fell to one of mocking sadness, although maybe there was real sadness in his eyes. Souji couldn't tell. "Aw, okay then." He leaned forward onto the table, now, catching eyes with the teenager and sounding honest, although Souji didn't trust him as far as he could throw him.

"I hope you catch whoever's doing this, Seta. It needs to be done."

Souji didn't glance back into the room as he left.

* * *

"God, I'm such an idiot," Yosuke told himself yet again, trudging down the streets of Inaba with his hands shoved in his pockets, no destination in mind.

He had obviously completely overreacted when Souji had told him about his dream, but at the same time part of his mind felt he was justified. The murders had to be over! They had gone through so many fake culprits and things, with Kubo, and then Namatame, that if there was something else he was going to explode.

Most of what Souji had said, though, made perfect sense. They didn't know what the Midnight Channel was or where it had come from, or how both Souji and the other two had gotten their powers. They did know that Souji had some supernatural confidantes that helped him with his Personas, and he knew he wasn't lying. Yosuke would trust Souji with anything, and he knew the other wouldn't lie about something like this. So why was he so scared? Why did he blow Souji off like a jerk and run away?

He was a coward.

The simple truth was, he didn't really want to fight anymore. Not if it involved almost dying again- they had come so close to that, so many times. He didn't want anyone to die, but most of all he didn't want Souji to suffer and seeing as he was their leader, he most certainly would.

And, just because Yosuke was a coward, he denied Souji and ran. He had made that promise with everyone to find the truth, and then told Souji he would break that if it would save his own neck. Some friend he was.

A cold breeze fluttered through the air and Yosuke shuddered, tucking his arms closer to his sides. Absently he looked up and realized he had stopped in front of Junes.

_Dad'll be mad,_ his mind told him. That was true. He had work today doing inventory, and he should probably go in there and fix things with him as well.

Of course, being the stupid coward he was, Yosuke turned away and headed towards home.

* * *

"Where have you been?" As soon as Yosuke slipped inside his house, his mother assaulted him, one hand on her hip and a rice-spattered wooden spoon in the other.

Yosuke brushed past her. "Souji's. He came back home for Golden Week. I'm gonna take a shower, kay?" And before she could protest he disappeared up the stairs.

Dragging his feet and sighing, Yosuke slid into his familiar messy room and leaned against the door for a moment, silence surrounding him. It was weird for Teddie not to be frolicking around, where was he?

Then Yosuke's thoughts remembered yelling at him to stay earlier, and Yosuke groaned guiltily while smacking himself in the forehead. "God, I manage to make everyone pissed at me, don't I?" He asked to the empty air as he pulled off his MP3 player and tossed it onto his bed, before doing the same with his gakuran and leaving to cross the hall into the bathroom.

His body undressed itself and got into the shower almost by itself, Yosuke's thoughts preoccupied. No matter how much he tried to direct them away, his thoughts always strayed back to Souji.

And then there was the fact that he was in the shower...

"Ah, fuck it," Yosuke muttered out loud and started washing his hair vigorously, trying to get out everything cluttering his hair and his mind. Rinsing that and reaching for his orange-scented conditioner(so what if it was scented? Most conditioner was. Souji's probably- _fuc__k_), he ran that through his hair quickly and then turned off the shower with a quick flick of his wrist.

Yosuke stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist, another being dragged up to rub ferociously at his hair. Mentally comparing, he decided not to change- he didn't want to walk across the hall, and he could always get his mom to wash his clothes.

So, drying off quickly, he redressed and headed downstairs after picking up his music from his room.

Downstairs, his mother was humming absently to herself in the kitchen, fixing plates of curry rice together. Yosuke paused at the bottom of the steps, watching her silently until she turned around and then he smiled.

"Hey mom, where's dad?"

"Your father is washing up. Where is Teddie-chan?" Yosuke's mom had developed a fondness for the Shadow, who lapped up the attention he got from anyone.

Yosuke ignored the twinge he felt and pulled out a chair to sit down in. "Over at Souji's still."

Atsuko Hanamura turned and pulled out a chair after setting plates of food in front of the three spots, sitting on the edge of it. Yosuke didn't notice his mother's actions, instead closing his eyes and resting his head on the back of the chair.

He was jolted out of his thoughts by the sound of another chair scraping against the ground, opening his eyes to see his father settling at the head of the table, hands damp and expression schooled. Grinning, Yosuke sat up and scooted closer to the table, nodding his head towards him. "Hey dad."

Yosuke's father only nodded at him and shared a look with his mother(which Yosuke missed), then tucked his napkin onto his lap and the three chimed "Let's eat!" simultaneously.

Yosuke grabbed his fork and sunk into the food eagerly, only now reminded that he hadn't eaten since breakfast. His parents tucked in more politely, no one saying anything until there was a lull in Yosuke's scarfing down.

"One of the high school girls quit this morning," Kazuhiro started the conversation. Atsuko looked at him oddly and Yosuke glanced up in surprise, setting his fork down.

"Really? Man, I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did," he chuckled, internally having a party with cupcakes and rainbows everywhere.

"Yes, so I've decided to make you a full-time employee."

The sparkles and rainbows disappeared as if sucked into a black hole, leaving Yosuke's mind empty as he stared blankly at his father, disbelievingly. "W-what?"

His father nodded. "Yes, I think it'd be good for you-"

All of a sudden the table shuddered ominously as Yosuke's knees crashed into it when he jumped up violently, anger flooding his veins at that. "Yo-you mean I'm NOT working full-time already?"

One impressive eyebrow was raised. "No, Yosuke, you're still on the payroll as a part-time employee."

"You have got to be _fucking_ kidding me!" Yosuke raged, not sure how any of this could be real. He faintly heard his mother's chastisement at his language, but ignored it in favor of the indignation in his mind.

How was he not a full-time employee! He worked almost double of what a normal part-timer would be, and did it because they always skipped out on their work. He wasn't even getting paid enough for what he did, and now his father decides to make him a full employee? Faint memories of the conversation he had heard yesterday swamped through his mind. "I-is this some kind of way to punish me? Make me more responsible?" He asked.

Yosuke's father had the grace to look shocked. "No, of course not Yosuke. This will teach you responsibility, and maybe make you take more notice of what you want to do later in life, but by no way is it a punishment for you doing something wrong. Junes just needs more workers."

"More workers, my ass," Yosuke scoffed, glaring at his father. "Nobody in this town wants to work at Junes. They still hate the place."

"That may be true, but they'll warm up to it. Now, for tomorrow-"

Yosuke cut his father off, one fist clenched. "Dad- I can't believe you. I- how the _fuck_ have you gotten away with working me this hard and not even paying me enough for it?"

"You get paid enough for a high schooler. You don't need money to be frivolously spending on some motorcycle or something."

At that, Yosuke's temper snapped. "Oh, well I'm sorry something so important to me is that frivolous. Maybe I shouldn't get paid at all, if all I'm going to to do is spend it on stupid things like a mode of _transportation_!"

And before his father could respond Yosuke had disappeared, out into the night.

* * *

It was quite a cold night for May, Souji pondered as he wrapped his jacket tighter around him and shoved his hands in his pockets. The morning and afternoon had been perfectly sunny, but after the sun had fallen a chill swept over Inaba.

Of course, it didn't help that he was walking towards the Samegawa River on his way home. The bus system stopped running at a certain time, so he was only able to get to the Shopping District before their runs ended and he was forced to make the rest of the trek home on foot.

Glancing around somewhat nervously, Souji ducked his head down as he dashed across a street, finally at the start of the flood plain.

The wind rustled the leaves eerily, silence filling the air as Souji trudged along and reflected on his visit with Adachi. The only sound was the scratch of leaves against branches and one shuddering sigh- wait, what?

Instantly alert, Souji's gray eyes darted around as he looked for the source of the noise, and found it in a dark silhouette of a person, sitting at the picnic table to his left, under the shelter. They had their face in their hands and looked troubled.

Instinctively, Souji stepped closer, into the grass and called out quietly, "Hello? Who is that?"

Only when the person's head snapped up did he recognize the spiky hair that belonged to only one person in Inaba.

Yosuke looked tired, more tired than he had since Souji could remember. His expression, though, was one of shock and panic as he met Souji's eyes for an instant and then stood up quickly, probably intending to leave.

Souji wouldn't have that, though, instead marching over there purposefully and placing a hand on the brunette's shoulder, who had turned away from him. "What are you doing here, Yosuke?" He questioned.

As quick as Yosuke had stood he seemed to deflate, sinking back onto the bench. "Hey, Souji," was the only response he gave, and Souji frowned as he took a seat next to him, looking out into space.

The silence between the two was deafening, setting both of them on edge. _What am I supposed to say,_ Souji thought, sneaking glances at Yosuke who was staring up at the sky. Finally he settled for a simple "What's wrong?"

"Would you believe me if I told you everything?" was the monotone answer he got.

Souji lowered himself down to sit on the edge of the bench, choosing to look straight at Yosuke. "No." When the brunette stiffened with confusion, he went on. "Something has to be right, or you'd have no hope at all. You're not dead, that's a plus."

Yosuke snorted. "Yeah, that's a wonderful thing to know. Thanks for informing me." He looked over and Souji caught his gaze; those beautiful brown eyes were filled with sadness and guilt as he suddenly sighed heavily. "Souji, I"m really sorry about early, I was so wrong and I believe you and I shouldn't have-"

"Yosuke," Souji interrupted warmly, smiling. To be honest all anger towards his best friend had disappeared the moment he had spotted him looking so melancholy. True to form, though, the other just hurried on, looking for and more worried as he rambled.

"-was being a coward and didn't want to believe it, 'cause what if this person really can just kill us? I don't want-"

"Yosuke."

"-and if you get hurt, I don't think I could-"

"_Yosuke._"

The brunette jumped and shut his mouth abruptly, flushing but Souji just chuckled, chest filling with a warm feeling he quite liked. Maybe it was relief? Or something else?

Either way, the silver haired teen pressed on with a fond smile. "It's fine, there's nothing to forgive. I was wrong too for saying that stuff."

Yosuke gave a soft relieved sigh and leaned back to rest his elbows on the table, grinning brightly. "Thanks partner," he said happily, but his smile dropped when Souji prodded him about what else was wrong.

"I had a fight with my dad," he admitted, then turned to Souji with eyes blazing with righteous fury that took him by surprise. "I'm not even a full-time employee at Junes yet!" Yosuke ranted, sitting up and gesturing wildly. "I'm still on the goddamned payroll as a part-timer, and dad's been working me this hard! Dammit," he swore, slamming his hand on the edge of the table and exhaling explosively.

Souji blinked in shock and surprise at that, along with indignation for Yosuke's father. His partner had been worked that hard and not even gotten paid enough for it? As much as Souji wanted to go and rage at the man, though, he knew all he could do was listen and help Yosuke.

"That's horrible," he half-growled, brow furrowed by relaxing as he turned to the confused Yosuke.

"But just talk to him," he advised. "I"m sure you can figure something out."

Yosuke smiled with a grateful expression, and at that exact moment the irrational-_ or was it the rational? _- part of his mind thought there was nothing more beautiful than the sight before him: Yosuke with a soft grin, stars reflected in his bright amber eyes. His skin shone in the dim streetlight, and two soft lips moved as he said something Souji didn't hear.

Those unheard words were cut off abruptly by having the lips captured in a kiss.

* * *

Golden Week was not a fun time to work at the Amagi Inn, Yukiko reflected redundantly, shuffling papers at the check-in desk. She would much rather be in the back, helping with cleaning or something, but they needed someone to manage the front.

Yukiko sighed again and pulled a the sleeves of her kimono, straining her eyes in the dim light of the artificial lanturns. _Who's going to come now, anyway? _She reasoned in her mind, kneeling down to rearrange some things under the counter.

When she stood up there were two people there.

Startled, Yukiko muffled a squeak and began to apologize profusely. "Oh, I'm sorry if I made you wait. I didn't notice anyone." She bowed, eyeing the couple. The man was tall, in a suit matching his neat black hair. The woman, on the other hand, looked slightly more frazzled, with silver hair pulled back in a bun. Silver hair that, Yukiko realized with a shock, looked eerily familiar...

The woman gave a polite smile. "That's quite alright," she said in a smooth voice that Yukiko dully realized she also knew. "My husband and I made reservations this morning for two? Last name, Seta."

* * *

**Author's Note:** *hides * Please don't kill me for the two cliffhangers! I'm sorry but that's where it felt right to cut it off. But you got some Souji/Yosuke in there! And yes, this is going to go through Persona 4's True Ending. That'll be next chapter, after August. Rest assured, though, that even though I may not update because of Camp NaNo, I am _not_ abandoning this story. It's just sort of on hiatus.

I'd like to send a thank you out to everyone who's reviewed so far, and let the anonymous reviewers know that even if I can't reply, I still appreciate your reviews just as much. Thank you all~

See you later! 3


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